Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The state-sanctioned murder show grinds on . . .

Word arrives from Georgia that now the state won't even allow Troy Davis a polygraph test prior to his execution (Davis had hoped to make one last statement of his innocence, perhaps to sway his killers). By this point, the government's bloodlust has gotten quite frightening. I wouldn't argue that Troy Davis is a saint - nor would I argue for freeing him without a substantial and thorough investigation - but the doubts cast over his trial process and conviction now make any kind of moral case for his execution impossible. Indeed, discovery since the trial has consistently implicated another man - unsurprisingly, the state's key witness against Davis. It's quite possible - some say probable - that the state is now acting as an accomplice in that suspect's second murder. This kind of story is precisely why I oppose the death penalty on principle - but time is running out on any hope that the justice system will reconsider its cruel course.